Civics Education Isn’t Optional

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Jan 8

A 50-State Review of Civics Education

Some statements are so obvious that it seems excessive or self-indulgent to say them. That civics education is important and should be a priority in American schools and universities should be one of those statements. The reality, unfortunately, is that many states do not sufficiently emphasize civic knowledge for both their students and future teachers.

A new report by the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal provides a national picture of the current state of civics education. The report, 50-State Comparison: Civics Education, analyzes two sets of data. First, it looks at which states require civics as a condition for high school and college graduation. Second, it highlights how well flagship teacher-preparation programs are preparing future teachers to pass on civic knowledge.

The data provide three main takeaways.

The first is that most states do not require a civics course at the college level. In most cases, students may choose to take a course on American history or government to fulfill a general-education requirement, but they are not required to do so. Instead, American history is one of many options on the “menu” of courses that satisfy students’ history requirement. The University of California, Berkeley, for example, has an “American History & Institutions” general-education requirement that can be fulfilled by taking an “Introduction to the History of the United States: The United States from Settlement to Civil War.” But it can also be easily satisfied by taking courses such as “Encounter & Conquest in Indigenous America,” “Wall Street / Main Street,” or “California, the West, and the World.”

The second takeaway is that fourteen states, at either the legislative or board level, require students to take at least one course in civics. Those states are Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

The third takeaway is that most states require civics for high school graduation, but some do not require future teachers to adequately study American history or politics in their preparation programs. For example, educator programs such as the one at the University of Alabama require future teachers to take American History 1 (early American to 1865) or American History 2 (1865 to the present) but not both. Teachers need to study the full arc of American history, not just part of it.

Similarly, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, future teachers can graduate with a middle school social-science teaching degree without sufficient grounding in American history. Students have the option to fulfill their American history requirement by choosing from one of seven courses that cover only a narrow portion of American history. For example, they could take a course entitled “Twentieth Century America,” “United States History to 1815,” or “Nineteenth Century America.” These courses are valuable but not enough for the country’s teachers.

What can be done to strengthen civics education? The Martin Center’s report offers some recommendations. Addressing curricular gaps is one straightforward reform. To be good citizens, students need to learn about foundational American documents such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. A simple way to ensure they receive this education is to integrate a mandatory 3-credit course on American institutions and ideals into a university’s general-education requirements. Doing so will benefit all students—including future teachers. For guidance, institutions should consult the REACH Act, which provides a model for a rigorous civics course.

Another remedy is for civics education to begin the moment students step on campus. Colleges and universities should develop programming that emphasizes the First Amendment and its role in American democracy. Colleges can also encourage civic knowledge by organizing annual events commemorating Constitution Day. Requiring students to take a College Civics Literacy Test as a prerequisite for graduation is another way to incentivize students to seriously study their American heritage.

The path to improving civics in this country isn’t complicated. States such as Texas, Georgia, and Florida have demonstrated that requiring a robust civics education is possible. The task is for all 50 states to do so together.

Shannon Watkins is Research and Policy Fellow at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.